Psychotically Yours
by Nukumi
Summary: AU. Her parents think she's crazy. Maybe they're right, but sending her to a building full of society's misfits may not have been the best of ideas...-Ino x Harem-
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell.  
__I know, right now you can't tell _

**They're gossiping about you.**

Blonde eyebrows drew together and baby blue eyes narrowed as a beautiful young girl looked over her shoulder at the small cluster of students behind her. There was a substitute teaching today and the class was treating the assignment like a group activity. Several groups all around the room were huddled together and chatting animatedly; only she and two or three other individuals were doing the classwork solo. She strained to hear the conversation going on behind her, but it was lost in a sea of voices rolling around the room. Defeated, she turned her attention back to the paper on her desk and began writing.

**Did you hear that? The blue-haired one called you **_**plastic**_**.**

The blonde turned her head again, her long ponytail swaying from the abrupt movement. She listened again, trying to at least catch pieces of what they were saying. Then she tried reading lips, with no success. Her distraction apparent, she made a second attempt to tune out her environment and get her work done. She looked at question number five for the third time and started working on her short answer. By the time she hit question seven, she was being disturbed again.

**I **_**said**_** THEY'RE GOSSIPING ABOUT YOU, don't you care? Are you going to just let them pick you apart like that?**

Pursing her lips, the girl kept her eyes on her paper and pressed a little harder as she wrote.

"Alright, pass your papers to the front please."

The substitute's voice rang out over the noise of her classmates and the blonde swore; she'd only finished twelve of the fifteen questions.

**Maybe they're right about you after all. How much did that manicure cost you? Or the eyelash extensions? The push-up bra? **

She chewed on her bottom lip as the teacher dismissed them and she gathered her textbooks into her arms.

**Or maybe it's your personality that's fake. You smile without meaning it. Pretend to be nice when you're irritated. Cry for show when you don't get your way. **

She navigated the crowd of bodies in the hallway and stopped in front of her locker, one hand turning the combination.

**You're completely artificial, inside out. That's why your grades are dropping.**

She put away her science book and pulled out her pre-algebra book and a purple binder.

**That's why you have no friends.**

She slammed her locker shut and started towards her next class.

**That's why he-**

The girl haulted suddenly and threw her books on the hallway floor, a snarl on her face vicious enough to strike fear into the hearts of the meek.

"SHUT UP! Shut the hell up! I don't _need_ your stupid _commentary_!"

All eyes snapped to the petite blonde who was standing in the middle of the hallway, screaming at no one. When she realized she'd made a public spectacle of herself, the young beauty made a mad dash to the girl's bathroom to save herself from further humiliation. Locking the door behind her, she was relieved to see that the stalls were empty. She let out a sigh and mechanically walked to the sinks, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair still looked great; a high, sleek ponytail with bangs swept over one eye. Her makeup looked fine and her clothes were in perfect order. She scowled and put two fingers on her temple. What was going on with her today? It wasn't like her to be paranoid and it certainly was unusual for her to cause a scene, she always went with the flow things. Except when "the flow" was going against her.

"I've got to stop stressing over the mid-terms. Maybe the Redbull too, it's making me jumpy."

She told her reflection, shaking her head at herself. She dug a hand into her denim pockets and pulled out her cellphone to check the time.

1:08pm. Damn, she was running late for pre-algebra. She tucked her phone back into her pocket, turned around-

And promptly screamed.

* * *

"Have there been any..._changes_ at home lately?"

A woman with short, black hair and dark eyes sat primly, her hands folded on her desk. There was a name plate at the front of her desk, but half of it was blocked by a plant. The visible half read SHIZUNE. Across from her sat a bewildered and slightly shamed couple.

"No. Nothing out of the usual. Everything's fine."

The female replied, her face starting to redden. The dark haired woman blinked and leaned forward.

"And has your daughter said anything out of the ordinary lately? Exhibited any odd behavior?"

The male spoke up this time, his cornflower blue eyes filled with worry.

"No. Ino's...just Ino. She hasn't done anything strange."

"Then perhaps she's become withdrawn? Stopped hanging out with friends? Discontinued watching her favorite television shows?"

The couple before her shook their heads and the Guidance Counselor made a sound in her throat before leaning back into her chair.

"Mr. and Mrs. Yamanaka, I've called you in here today because I believe your daughter has had a nervous breakdown."

Shock washed over their faces. The mother opened and closed her mouth twice before speaking.

"What do you mean? Nervous breakdown as in how? Or what?"

"Nervous breakdown, as in having fits of hysteria and claiming that there's a ghost in the third floor girls' bathroom."

Their expressions turned gloomy, and the father spoke again.

"What would cause this? How do we get her better?"

Shizune gave a half-hearted smile and opened one of her desk drawers, pulled something out, then shut it. Then she stood and stretched to hand them what they recognized as a pamphlet.

"There's a Center for people with...issues of this nature. I suggest you send your daughter there for the next ninety days. Perhaps they can help shed some light on this."

The Yamanakas looked at the folded paper in their hands that read KONOHA COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER and silently wondered where they'd screwed up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1 : ****The first step is admitting that you have a problem**

_They tried to make me go to rehab  
__I said no, no, no_

It was 8pm and the light outside had dimmed substantially. Soon, the streetlights would come on and the younger neighborhood children would be called by their mothers to come inside. Ino stared at the imposing building in front of her, embarassment coloring her cheeks. She couldn't believe this situation, she really couldn't. The (evil!) school counselor had given her an ultimatum after having a conference with her parents: either attend some sessions at _this place_, or serve two weeks' suspension for being "disruptive" to the learning environment. Ino rallied for the suspension, but her parents sold her out and forced her to take this option. So here she stood. Accepting her fate, she groaned and walked up the steps. It took some effort to push open one of the huge glass doors, but she managed and shuffled into the building. The inside was unimpressive save for size, and sported white walls, beige carpet, stairs and elevator to the left and an open lounge area to the right. Ino peeped at the paper in her hands.

"Room 126. Hm, first floor."

She turned left and started down the hallway, passing the stairs. The corridor was plain enough, each door she passed looked identical and the walls were naked with no paintings, bulletins boards, or anything. The place felt...serious. Ino slowed down as the numbers she passed came closer to the one she was looking for and finally she stopped, anxious. In front of her was a plain wooden door baring a rectangle with the number 126 enscribed on it. Standing there, feeling like she was looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, Ino felt a strong urge to ditch. Just skip the meeting, go home at the time it was supposed to be over, and bullshit her parents into believing that she'd went. It was tempting, but she resisted and turned the doorknob, swinging the door open.

"...is unhealthy. Oh, hello there."

A brown haired man with a scar across the bridge of his nose took notice of her immediately. The same could not be said for the room's other two inhabitants: a big, _big_ boy with orange hair who was rocking in his chair and muttering nonsense, and a more average sized dark haired boy who was actually quite attractive. Both boys looked to be about her age, and neither acknowledged her intrusion.

"...Hi."

The brunette man, which Ino assumed was the group leader or whatever, flipped through some papers on his clipboard.

"Are you...Yamanaka Ino?"

"Yes."

The man smiled at her and waved his arm toward an empty chair.

"Please, have a seat. I'm Umino Iruka, welcome to our session today. This is Juugo, and that's Sasuke. Say hello guys."

"..."

Ino sat hesitantly beside the boy identified as Sasuke and tried not to look as intimidated as she felt. Iruka gave her a cheery grin.

"Let's get started then, shall we? Miss Yamanaka, can you tell me why it is you're here?"

Her brow furrowed.

"Because my parents made me come."

He half laughed at her. How many times had he heard that in his career?

"No, it's okay. We don't judge in this room. Please, tell me the reason you were referred to us."

She was mildly offended.

"I don't know."

Iruka made a face that said _Really?_ but dropped the topic for the moment.

"Okay, can you tell us a bit about yourself then?"

Ino took a deep breath; she hated introductions and would make this as short and painless as possible.

"I'm Ino. I'm fourteen. I go to Shimizu Junior High. I like purple."

She snuck a glance at Sasuke. His eyes were unfocused and staring at empty space. He was completely zoned out.

Iruka sighed. Why did he always get the resistant ones? He was getting the strong first impression from this girl that she wasn't going to say anything significant today, and probably wouldn't until she felt comfortable. At least, he hoped that was the case. Juugo had been coming to the center since before Iruka was hired, probably all of his life, and Iruka still hadn't been able to get a coherent sentence out of him. Sasuke's been seeing him for six years now, and all he'd managed to do for him was get him fairly stable - the boy's severe panic attacks were less frequent than they were at first, but in his calm state he was extremely brief with his replies. When he bothered to reply, that is. Hopefully, whatever traumatization this girl had undergone hadn't been as severe as theirs.

"Allrighty then. Well Ino, for today why don't you sit back and observe how we do things here and you can just jump in anytime if you have thoughts you want to share. Sasuke, let's start with you. Do you know why you're here?"

"I want to kill Itachi."

* * *

Well, _that_ was mildly more disturbing than Ino had been expecting.

It was 11pm and Ino had just been released from her group meeting. As she walked down the hall and away from her counseling group, she wondered more than ever why she had been sent here. In three hours she had quickly come to the conclusion that Juugo was, for all intents and purposes, clinically insane. Schizophrenic, to be specific. Though he never genuinely interacted with any of the people in the room he seemed to argue with his split personality easily enough. He avoided eye contact with all of them and when his eyes did happen to lock on to one of theirs, he growled like a feral beast. Sasuke wasn't much better off. On first impression, the boy appeared to be the archetypal Too Cool for School douchebag, albeit a very sexy douchebag. Once the group leader was able to squeeze some words out of him though, it became abundantly clear that Sasuke was a little broken in the head. Maybe _a lot_ broken in the head. From what Ino could tell, he was obsessed with the idea of killing someone named Itachi and had made several attempts on said person's life. Both of her group mates had serious mental problems and Ino really didn't feel like having a little _episode_ in school warranted being sentenced to this.

She frowned, and as she drew nearer to the stairs, she noticed that there were vending machines behind them. The vibrant colors of candy coated comfort looked promising, and she veered off path, handing fumbling around in her pockets for loose change. When she stood in front of the Giver of Sugary Crack, she counted her findings.

"Eighty four cents?"

She peered at the coins disdainfully, then rechecked the price on the king-sized bag of Skittles. Yup, they were still $1.10.

"Damnit!"

She braced a hand on either side of the machine and rocked it. Absolutely nobody and _nothing_ denied Yamanaka Ino.

"How much you short?"

A low voice drawled out from her side and Ino froze, she hadn't noticed anyone else here. From the corner of the space, a boy emerged from the shadows and into the illuminating light of the vending machines. He, too, looked to be around her age. She relaxed and released her grip on her mechanical hostage.

"Thirty six cents."

He looked from her to the vending machine, then stepped closer. The faint scent of tobacco drifted to her nose.

"Which one?"

"Skittles."

"Hn."

She smoothed her bang back as the stranger dipped a hand into his pocket, then inserted a dollar and a dime and pressed the D7 button. The Skittles fell, and Ino smiled at him as he handed them to her. Ah, the advantages of being pretty!

"Thanks!"

"No problem. You new here?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. Ino ripped open a corner of her bag.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

He nodded, expecting the answer.

"You still have the look of shame from being sent here."

She blinked, then smiled. His dark eyes looked bored but kind and something about the way he slouched and relaxed in front of her made her relax too.

"Yeah."

She stuck out her hand. She wasn't really sure if people still did the whole shaking-hands-when-introducing-yourself thing, but she figured it couldn't make her look any uncool-er than being here in the first place.

"I'm Ino. I'm from Shimizu Junior High."

He shook her hand lazily, in no rush at all.

"Shikamaru. Kitano High."

She blinked, surprised.

"_Oh_. You're older than me."

He shifted his weight and bent one knee, bracing his foot on the wall behind him.

"No, probably not. I skipped a few grades. It was troublesome."

He shrugged to punctuate his statement, as if it were nothing at all, but Ino was impressed. She almost asked him what he was doing in a place like this, but quickly realized the question could easily boomerang back to her, and she did NOT want to explain that. So she asked the next best thing.

"How long have you been coming here?"

He tilted his head slowly then back.

"Four months, give or take one."

"Hm. I've got to do three."

"Lucky."

"Oi, Shikamaru! Who's this?"

The blonde turned to see a pudgy guy with reddish brown hair walking towards them. Shikamaru smirked and didn't move.

"This is Ino. Ino, Chouji. Chouji, Ino. She's new here."

"Ah.", Chouji's face smoothed into a friendly smile. "Hey Ino!"

"Hi."

He then promptly pulled a twenty dollar bill from his pocket and fed it to the machine. He pressed fifteen different buttons and gathered his edible treasure in his arms. He looked happy, and started stuffing the small packages into coat and pants pockets.

"Chouji," Shikamaru's voice warned, "Aren't you supposed you supposed to be cutting out the sodium this week?"

Chouji's face fell, guilty.

"I only got one bag of Fritos and one Funions. Junk food doesn't count as food."

He said it but he didn't believe his own words, and when Shikamaru simply stared at him he dug into his pockets and pulled out the Funions, offering them to Ino. She took them. Shikamaru pushed off of the wall and straightened up.

"We better get going, it's getting late. See ya, Ino."

"Yeah, bye Ino! Nice meeting you."

"Goodbye."

Shikamaru walked off and Chouji trailed behind him, munching happily. She smiled at their backs. Her group sessions were long and pointless, but at least there were some nice people around.

* * *

A / N : This is a drama/humor/hurt/comfort with light sprinklings of romance all around and a dash of angst. It's also a harem. Don't take it too seriously.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2:**** There are adventures to be had on bathroom breaks**

_I'm a little left of center, I'm a little out of tune  
__Some say I'm paranormal, so I just bend their spoon_

"Good evening, Ino. Good to have you with us again. Can you tell me why you're here?"

It was 8:05pm and here she was, right back in this despicable building of degradation and questioning. When she arrived, she'd done a quick search for the guys she met the day before, but they were nowhere to be found so Ino had no choice but to drag herself down the hall to the room where her group met. Once again, Iruka had given her a perky welcome whilst her fellow group members ignored her existance and now the game of Twenty Questions was starting.

"No."

Iruka's expression didn't change.

"Can you make a guess?"

Ino made a short grunt and squirmed in her chair, giving him the most sarcastic answer that came to mind.

"My guidance counselor is jealous of my young, hot bod?"

His eyebrows jumped at that statement and he took a breath to regain his composure.

"Okay, can you give me a reason you think she may be jealous?"

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. She was starting to hate the tone of voice he used, that stereotypical _How does that make you feel?_ psychiatrist voice. Oh wait, he probably _was_ a psychiatrist. Or psychologist. Or therapist. Something. If he was going to take everything she said seriously then they were just going to go around in circles. She brainstormed, and did a mental happy dance when she'd thought of a suitable distraction.

"Iruka-san, why did you choose this job?"

He perked up at her apparent interest and smiled.

"Well, to give back, I guess." He looked at Sasuke. "When I was your age, I was an orphan and was always getting into trouble for the attention. After one too many run-ins with mall security guards it was either this of juvenile hall, so they sent me here."

"You used to come here?"

Ino's voice lowered a noch, critical. What was this, some sort of blind-leading-the-blind situation? Get an ex-delinquent to deal with the crazies? Iruka only smiled wider, a look of nostalgia crossing his features.

"Room 407. Had to report in straight from after-school detention."

"Wow. What'd you do to be on total supervision like that?"

She didn't care, really. But the longer she kept him talking about himself, the less time he had to question her. Unfortunately, Iruka was wise to her tactics.

"Something involving paint, duct tape, and a pig, but that's a story for another day. Now why is it that you think your guidance conselor is jealous of you?"

Ino swore under her breath. Time to switch to tactic number two.

"Can I have a bathroom break? It's kind of _urgent_."

Iruka looked like he didn't buy it, and if she'd been a boy he would have denied her, but he had sympathy. Maybe she had _girl business_ to take care of. He waved a hand at her.

"Bathroom is on the second floor, two doors down from the elevator. You have five minutes."

Ino nodded and jumped out of her seat, almost running out the door. In the hallway she slowed, contemplating what to do next. She had five free minutes, which she could probably stretch to ten if she could convince him that she got lost. She might as well explore.

Ino bounced up the stairs to the second floor and roamed around, but there wasn't much to see, and she ended up going up to the third floor in search of entertainment. Like the first and second floor, the doors were plain and wooden and she couldn't peep inside to see what other people were doing. She wasted a few seconds looking out of the window in a lounge area that looked identical to the one on the first floor, then checked her phone. Eight minutes had passed, she'd better start heading back.

Ino was coming up on the third floor's bathroom and thinking about going in _just to try_ when someone came thundering down the stairs and hurried into the bathroom. Stunned, she paused until curiousity got the better of her and she crept closer. Ino was just about to open the bathroom door when the same person burst out and nearly crashed into her. He wasn't much taller than she was, and sported long golden blonde hair half up in a ponytail that fell over one eye like hers. He wore a faded paint-splattered shirt and ripped jeans and his visible eye was ice blue in color and bright with mischief. He grinned at her and held his hands up, backing her away from the bathroom door.

"Wait, wait! Don't go in there. Come over here!"

He tugged her by her sleeve back to the space by the stairs and put a finger in front of his lips in the universal sign for _sssh!_ Perplexed, Ino eyed the bathroom door in anticipation. A second later, the elevator doors opened and a teenaged girl stepped out, a deep frown set on her face and straight, blood red hair trailing from under the beanie on her head. She practically stomped to the bathroom and flung the door open. The blonde guy beside Ino sucked in a breath, grin widening.

"Wait for it..."

Ino listened. She heard the toilet flush, then a sound something like the rattle of a marble in a tin can, then a small _boom_ and the subsequent sound of water splashing. The male blonde burst out laughing. Ino gaped.

"WHO EVER THE FUCK PUT A FUCKING CHERRYBOMB IN THE BATHROOM, I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR FUCKING FACE."

Ino covered her mouth and the guy beside her, laughing even harder now, quickly pressed the elevator button and pulled her inside with him. He pressed a number and the doors closed, and Ino felt slightly safe. She looked at the numbers and noticed that he'd pressed 4. What was that Iruka had said? _'Room 407. Had to report in straight from after school detention.'_ She gave him a crooked smile as the elevator ascended.

"So, you're a delinquent, huh?"

He caught his breath and brushed his hair out of his face, giving her a half serious look.

"No. I'm an _artist_, yeah. Gonna do special effects for movies. Explosions are my specialty."

"Wow, really? That's...awesome."

"I know, un."

He smiled again, smug. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. He stepped out and turned around.

"Hey, stay out of Tayuya's way, yeah. You don't wanna be around her when she's pissed."

"Tayuya?"

"The redhead downstairs. Heard she beat some chick named TenTen something brutal. Anger problems and such."

A chill swept Ino's spine.

"Got it."

He chuckled at her mortified expression, then turned to go.

"Later."

Ino looked after him a minute, then realized that she probably needed to press the button if she wanted the elevator to move. Then the thought hit her that Tayuya might be waiting to catch the elevator, and she quickly got off. Ino took the stairs two at a time passing the third floor and slowed to a normal pace passing the second floor. By the time she reached the first floor, her fear had totally dissipated. She strolled casually to her meeting room and check her phone on the way.

Seventeen minutes had passed.

Ino bit the inside of her lip, squeezing her eyes shut, then opened the door.

"Nice to have you back. I was begining to think you'd fallen in."

"Um, the dispenser was out of tampons?"

Iruka gave her a look.

* * *

They got out at 11pm again and this time Ino walked out in a daze. Halfway through today's session, Iruka had found it necessary to lecture the three of them on why it's important not only to admit what's bothering them, but to discover why they're feeling that way so that they can get to the root of their problems and start the healing process. Ino had interjected, stating bluntly that what was this, Alcoholics Anonymous? And she didn't have a problem, aside from the un-cushioned metal chair that was slowly making her butt go numb. Iruka challenged her then, reminding her that there was a reason she was there and didn't she want to find out that reason? And then he started to go on and on about mental health and how people don't really know how to take care of themselves, so they have to be taught. Ino eventually realized that her argument was just as futile as a criminal in jail, proclaiming their innocence to a warden, and stopped making denials. In fact, she refused to say another word for the rest of the session - which ended up being quite a quiet one seeing as Sasuke was in one of his silent moods. So Iruka simply gave another lecture on the importance of communication. All in all, it had been a long night.

Ino was halfway down the hall when she heard yelling up ahead.

"Was it you, fatass? Did you rig the goddamn toilet?"

She recognized it as the voice of the redhead from earlier. She heard whimpering in response.

"Tch. Let him go, Tayuya. His group's on the second floor. He wasn't anywhere near that bathroom."

"Shut it, lazyass! I'm talking to Fatso."

Ino felt goosebumps raise on her arms as she walked closer. She could see the scene now: the short girl had Chouji by the collar and was _in his face_. Shikamaru was close by, hands in the pockets and only looking slightly bothered. She stayed close to the wall and tried to creep by.

"HEY. Blondie, get your bitchass over here!"

Ino froze, then looked over her shoulder as if she really didn't know Tayuya was talking to her. For a brief second, Tayuya looked confused and released Chouji.

"You're not Deidara. Tch. Forget it. Get the fuck out of here."

Glancing at the boys, Ino didn't need to be told twice. She ran all the way to the front door and kept running outside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3 : Wonderland is full of addicts**

_The remedy is the experience  
This is a dangerous liasion_

_She takes a lick of the ice cream set precariously high on the cone in her hand and relishes the flavors of green tea and mint. A cool breeze caresses her face and blows her bangs away from her eyes, leaving her squinting from the brief exposure to direct sunlight. She laughs whole-heartedly as her companion notices his ice cream trailing down the back of his hand and tries to lick it up without dumping his treat in the process. The sound of her joy is infectious, and he ends up laughing at himself too before leaning in to kiss her. He tastes of butterscotch and a lingering hint of the Root Beer he had earlier and she smiles against his lips because she can't help it. They seperate, and the look in his eyes is something she wishes she could wrap around herself like a winter cloak and settle down in forever. He breaks eye contact first, bringing one hand to the bridge of his eyebrows like a visor and looks up at the endless sky. The action causes his shirt to shift and the unbuttoned collar slides to reveal the very peak of a scar on his chest._

_Sun looks dead-center of the sky now, it's gotta be around noon. We should head back._

_Not yet._

_He tilts his head and raises his eyebrow in a way that makes her heart beat out of rhythym._

_We'll miss the bus though._

_So?_

_She laps at her ice cream innocently with a careless shrug. He shakes his head at her lack of concern and grins._

_You don't mind being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no way home?_

_I'm with you, what does it matter?_

_His grin widens at her sappy response but he gets to his feet anyway and reaches with his free hand to help her stand up too. In the distance he can hear the rumble of the bus coming._

_Come on, let's go back for today. I'll bring you back here another time, promise._

_She considers pouting, but his smile and the vision of him standing there with his hand outstretched is too inviting for her to protest and she slips her palm into his._

...

The incessant ring of an alarm clock cut through the air like a knife through warm butter before an arm flailed, half covered by blankets and grasping in a desperate attempt to silence the most annoying invention _ever_. Succeeding, a soft grunt emanated from between the pillows as Ino stretched and grimaced. Her head ached with the force of twenty hangovers in spite of her sobriety and she started re-thinking her oppositional stance on teen drinking. She allowed herself another lazy minute of comfort before she forced her body to part with cottony, Tide-scented heaven and stumbled half blind into the bathroom.

Somehow, she just knew she'd be in for a long, long day.

* * *

As Ino had predicted, her day had been rocky. There was a fight on the bus that morning just a few seats behind hers, she'd forgotten to do her history assignment, and there was a pop quiz in her environmental science class. By the time 8pm had rolled around, Ino was officially cranky. The meeting room was too chilly, the lights were too bright and the sound of Iruka's voice was starting to irk Ino. She chewed on a hangnail angrily as Iruka continued with his opening session remarks.

"So today we're going to do an exercise you might've heard of. It's called Word Association and it goes like this: I give you a word, and you say the first thing that pops into your mind, alright? Everybody understand? Okay, let's start with Sasuke."

Ino tilted her chin to look at Sasuke, who warily eyed Iruka.

"First word: cloud."

"Itachi."

"Practice."

"Itachi."

"Genius."

"Itachi."

Iruka paused, exhaling loudly, then threw out three more words: _idol, fire, strength._ The answers came back _Itachi. Itachi. Itachi._ and then...

"Fan"

"...family."

Iruka's eyes bugged and he leaned forward, excited.

"Invisible."

"Father."

The brunette broke into a smile and grabbed a pen, furiously scibbling something on the papers stuck to his clipboard and mumbling about a breakthrough. When he was done, he looked at Sasuke with something like amazement, then turned his gaze toward Ino expectantly.

"Alright Ino, your turn. The first word is 'shoe'."

"Shopping."

"Music."

"Party."

"School."

"Boring."

"White."

She flinched for the briefest of seconds before answering.

"...hospital."

The word had felt heavy in her throat and thick on her tongue, like a syrup made from peanutbutter. She felt the sensation of hidden danger lurking predatorily, something banished in the depths of her mind threatening to bubble to the surface, but she ignored it. It was a game, just a stupid game. Nothing to be anxious about. Her hesitation did not go unnoticed and Iruka zeroed in, choosing his words on bias.

"Bed."

"Sick."

"Dirt."

A myriad of emotions flickered in Ino's eyes and she turned away suddenly, silent. Words triggered in her mind involuntarily: _Dirt. Dust. Ashes. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down. Ashes to ashes..._ Moments, memories caught in freeze frame flashed through her mind like a slideshow gone awry - flashing by her mind's eye as quickly as scenery outside of the window of a speeding car. Brillant blurs of color and nothing more, nothing more than an ache so deep and so strong in her heart that it terrified her; threatened to consume her whole without mercy. She almost hyperventilated.

Iruka repeated the word and Ino ignored him. She looked uncomfortable; her arms were wrapped around herself and she'd retreated to the furthest edge of her chair, facing the door. Sasuke glanced at her impassively. Iruka sighed in defeat, scribbled some notes down, and turned his attention to the other group member.

"Your turn, Juugo. I'm going to read some words from this list and I want-"

His voice was drowned out by a commotion from outside, a young male voice overpowering all others.

"No, wait! Gimme another chance! IRUKA-SENPAI! HELP!"

Iruka groaned and covered his face with his hand. Then he stood up, excused himself, and left the room. The door didn't close completely behind him, and Ino caught snippets of the conversation that followed.

"...caught him painting graffitti on the left side of the building...fourth offense..."

"...a little more lenient? He's only fourteen, can't..."

"...that big of a deal? It comes off with water, I swear! Iruka-senpai..."

"...supervision. Unless you're going to take responsibility, Umino-san."

There was a pause.

"...this again, Naruto. Don't you care about your future?"

"...so upset? It's not like I have one anyway."

Another pause, then footsteps. The brunette poked his head through the door, looking worse for wear.

"I'll have to end this meeting early today, guys. We'll add an extra hour onto our next session to make up for this. You're dismissed."

* * *

Ino drifted down the hallway feeling dazed and disconnected, feet moving her almost of their own accord until she found herself in the bathroom. She went up to a sink, leaned on it with both hands, and for once took a good, long look at herself. She studied the slope of her nose, the curve of her jawline, and the roundness of her eyes. She inspected the pink glitter on her eyelids, the heavy mascara, and the hot pink gloss on her lips. Then she examined her expression. She looked...lifeless. No angry wrinkles on her forehead, no sad tilt to her eyes, no happy lift to her lips. She looked

**Plastic. You're a walking, talking, mannequin baby.**

She turned on the faucet, cupped her hands under the stream of water, and buried her face in them. And she rubbed. She rubbed at her face with lukewarm handfulls of water until she no longer saw rivers of mascara and glitter running down the sides of the porcelain into the drain. She turned the knob off and looked up once more and faced her reflection. Still blank, still vacant, but no longer _artificial_. She grabbed a paper towel and pat her face dry. She threw it away when she finished and sauntered out the bathroom.

It wasn't until Ino was outside and bathed in the light of the streetlamps that she remembered that her group had let out an hour early; the bus she usually caught home wouldn't be coming for a while. She groaned and pulled her Mp3 player from her pocket, unwinding the earphones and inserting them. Her eyes trailed the area as the melodies played in her ear, and soon they landed on a ruby-haired male headed her way. Ino hadn't seen him get out of a car, but she was fairly certain someone had dropped him off. He was short and looked to be not quite old enough to drive. She watched him as he drew nearer in short strides and noticed that just beneath his hairline, he seemed to have a _kanji_ tattoo. He didn't have much in the way of eyebrows, and she noted that deep, dark rings circled his eyes. What pulled her attention most was the shade of those eyes; a sea-green so vivid and mesmerizing that she couldn't help but stare. A moment of deja vu hit her.

_You have eyes like tropical waters, you know that? So clear and calm..._

_He laughed at her, those very eyes crinkling shut, and mussed her hair with one hand._

_You're a poet and don't know it._

_She quirked her lips and swatted his hand away._

_No really, I mean it. They're hypnotic._

It was a second before Ino snapped back to reality, realizing not only that she was still staring, but that the boy was now standing directly in front of her. She jumped in reaction to the proximity, staring into the eyes that stared right back at hers unapologetically. There was something about the look of him, something about his face...no. As she looked more intently, it was something about what _wasn't_ in his face. With a start, she recognized that his face held the same deadpan expression that hers had held just minutes ago. That same look that masqueraded as nothing but was really a look of being lost, of emptiness. Her curiousity was piqued and her mind went into overdrive trying to explain the situation.

And then it occurred to her: she was standing directly in front of the door.

Ino bashfully stepped aside and the stranger walked right past her and into the building.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: Not everyone is as screwed up as you**

_Just take my hand, give it a chance  
__Don't jump _

Yamanaka Ino was in a better mood than she'd been in on her last meeting day. There'd been no issues at school, no painful morning headache, and she simply felt...good. Pretty, even. She'd stopped herself in the middle of her morning routine as she reached for her makeup bag, her hand recoiling as if she'd been burnt. Then a long, considering look had followed as she mentally measured the sentimental value of the bag and it's contents before she'd defiantly raised her chin and tossed the sequined bag into her trashcan. She tried to pretend that the sight of it there didn't make her heart twinge just a little and held her ground. For a year and a half, that bag had meant more to her than fashionable colors and trendy brands, it had come to symbolize _hope_. Ino had bought it and much of the products in it with birthday money the day after she turned thirteen. She had always idolized how glamorous the models in trendsetting magazines looked with their perfect, smokey eyes and shiney pout and was elated when her parents finally conceded that she was 'old enough'. To Ino, it was just a stepping stone to her ultimate goal: love. At thirteen, she had already learned what some girls didn't learn until well into their twenties: that while women fell in love through their ears, men fell in love through their eyes. To Ino, makeup wasn't just makeup, it was _war paint_. All she had to do was lure a guy in with her perfect, painted looks and then her personality would seal the deal and BAM! She'd get swept up into a whirlwind romance just like that!

But that had changed this morning. Ino had woken up, showered, gotten dressed, and then something had just clicked in her brain. As her hand was stretched out before her purely out of habit, Ino realized that she didn't want to put any makeup on. It no longer felt like battle gear, lending her the power to get the edge over rivals in her quest for love. It felt like Kabuki makeup - a painted-on mask for a character, hiding her face instead of emphasizing it. It had become a crutch, and Ino did not care for dependency, so she tossed it.

Now, walking towards the familiar outline of the Konoha Wellness Center, the breeze felt wonderful on Ino's bare skin as it whipped through her loose locks. She was about to close her eyes and enjoy it when movement on the edge of her vision caught her attention. She thought she saw something black move somewhere on the rooftop, but when she stared at the spot she saw nothing. Dismissing it as a cat, Ino kept walking towards the building when she saw movement again and stopped, curious. Approaching the roof's edge, a head of hair first came into view, then a face. Soon she could make out the figure of a boy standing there. She looked at him, but he seemed to look far beyond her and took another step forward. And then she remembered that this was the Konoha Wellness Center; normal people didn't come here and normal people certainly didn't stand on the edges of roofs. Panic rose in Ino's chest as the thought _He's going to jump!_ hit her and she broke into a sprint for the doors and called out to him.

"Stop! Don't do what you're thinking! Stop!"

She stole a glance at his surprised expression as she slammed the entry door open and rushed inside, going straight to the stairway. Ino ran up five flights of stairs until she saw the door marked ROOF and flung it open, racing up those stairs too. She was winded as burst onto the rooftop, half-terrified that the boy probably hadn't listened to her and had jumped already. She'd nearly fainted in relief when she saw that he was still standing there. Immediately she smiled and hunched over, heaving to catch her breath.

"Thank. Heaven. I was so. Scared."

The boy looked at her quizically.

"Scared? About what?"

Ino's smile fell and, still heaving, she straighted up to look him in the face. He was handsome, she immediately noted. Short, inky black hair and equally dark eyes. Boyish features that were almost androgynous and skin as pale as alabaster. _Definitely handsome_.

"You! You were going to jump! ...weren't you?"

The boy pulled out a thin book that had been tucked under his arm and waved it.

"Not at all."

Ino gaped, taking a few steps forward as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Are you serious? Who stands on the EDGE OF A ROOF to read?"

His lips spread into a polite smile as he pulled a pencil from behind his ear.

"Not me. I was sketching."

The blonde stepped closer, and from the short distance she could now tell that he was, in fact, holding a sketchbook. She had just confirmed his intentions...at the expense of her dignity.

"Oh. Right." She cast a look at the horizon to hide her mortification at making such a rash assumption. The sun had retired, but the last rays of it's fading light still shone in the distance. "Were you sketching the sunset?"

He nodded, flipping the sketchbook open and turning it horizontal to show her a page. Ino did a double take, looking from the picture to the view and back again.

"You're _good_. Really good!"

All the sketch was missing was color, he had perfectly captured the view from the rooftop. He turned the page for her, and on the next page Ino's own startled face stared up at her in black and white. It was unfinished, the features done in quick yet accurate strokes and some guidelines made for her hair, but she could tell already that he'd nailed her look. In the time it had taken Ino to run up six flights of stairs, this boy had made a killer rendering of her shocked face.

"It's stunning."

Ino wondered what it said for her vanity to declare an unfinished picture of her to be so interesting. He looked pleased at her compliment.

"You had a beautiful expression just then. I wanted to keep it."

Ino's cheeks colored and she broke eye contact. She noticed a small shoulder bag not far from his feet, a few pens and erasers spilling out.

"Do you always sketch up here?"

Another nod. "It has the best perspective. Almost everything is in plain view from higher ground."

She looked over the horizon again. He was right. The building was tall enough that Ino could see everything for a remarkably far range. The wind whipped through her hair again, and Ino was temporarily awed as the last embers of daylight slipped away and one by one the streetlights lit. When the closest one flickered on, her eyes shifted back to the boy beside her. He was drawing again. She stepped back and leaned in to peek at his creation-in-process. It was a girl, standing at an edge of ground under a darkened sky, hair blown wildly around her in extravagant curved lines. He finished shading the girl's shadow and looked at her expectantly.

"Do you like it?"

She did. It was like he had magically trapped the serenity of that moment onto the paper. "I love it." She was already mentally picking out a spot on her bedroom wall to tape it to. Maybe she'd even frame it.

Ino's future plans were dashed when he closed the book and started to stuff it into his backpack, throwing in his pencil too. She nearly asked him why he was done drawing when it dawned on her that, duh, it was dark out now. Much too dark to get any of the detail he seemed to prefer in his sketches. A second later, she finally remembered that chatting on the roof with a complete stranger was NOT why she had come here.

"Omigosh, the meeting!" She shrieked, spinning on her heel and rushing for the door that led back into the building. "Nice meeting you!"

He watched her go with a hint of amusement.

"Bye, Beautiful."

* * *

He donned a tracksuit made from the most outrageous, eye-gouging shade of orange known to man. That was the first thing Ino noticed about Uzumaki Naruto, the blonde currently seated next to Iruka. The second thing was that he apparently had some score to settle with Sasuke. And the third thing? Kid was LOUD. Like, freight train loud.

"Is this a joke? There's nothing wrong with Sasuke-_teme. _You know, other than the fact that he's an asshole."

"Shut it, Uzumaki."

"Make me, _teme_!"

She'd been late to her group again, but Iruka had tactfully paused discussion to introduce her to their new addition. He'd gestured to the short boy beside him and declared that, while he was technically a member of a group on the fourth floor, Naruto would be joining them for a while due to _extenuating circumstances_. In other words, Naruto wasn't allowed out of Iruka's sight. In theory, it sounded like a harmless arrangement, but the way the blue-eyed loudmouth accused Sasuke of faking things rubbed Ino the wrong way. She had already caught glimpses in past sessions of how messed up Sasuke was and felt defensive for him, even though he was defending himself already (and that was something of an improvement).

"_I'll_ make you, if you don't shut your trap, _Naruto_."

Blue challenged blue. Naruto glowered at her.

"Iruka-senpai, who is this chick? She's a pain in the ass."

Ino squeaked indignantly. Iruka rubbed at his forehead, feeling the headache on it's way.

"Naruto,"

"Don't call her that."

Sasuke beat him to it, dark eyes still on the troublemaker. Iruka, Ino, and Naruto looked surprised. Then Naruto's face shifted into a mocking sneer.

"Oi, _teme_, this your new crazy girlfriend?"

There was a brief hush before everyone exploded.

"Oh no you didn't!"  
"You're skating on thin ice, _dobe_."  
"Naruto, please..."  
"I ain't scared of none of ya! Especially you, Sasuke!"  
"Come over here and say that."  
"Bring it on, you big pumpkin!"  
"Miss Ino, please don't encourage him."

And things quickly deteriorated from there. By the end of the session, Juugo was more agitated than usual from all of the yelling, Ino was out of breath, Sasuke had a murderous look in his eyes, and Iruka had had to slam Naruto back into his seat six times. The day's meeting had accomplished absolutely nothing and they were all more than ready to go home.

Ino pushed her hair back over her shoulders as she stomped towards the front doors, still angry about the pesk named Naruto that her group would be forced to deal with from now on. It had come out during the arguing that he and Sasuke had went to elementary school together, but she still didn't understand Naruto's vendetta against him. Much less why he went as far as to antagonize her when all she did was defend her groupmate. Loser. Next time she saw him, she was going to verbally _annihilate_ him. If she didn't slap him first. He was such a pain, so different from the laid-back, easy going guy she'd met on the roof before the meeting.

Ino paused in her march to the exit, remembering the pale artist and turning to look back at the stairs. _Would he still be up there?_ She stared, wondering, and finally decided to go have a look. Ino crept up the stairs, so as not to disturb those whose groups were still in session, and made it to the fifth floor. She eased the door leading to the roof entrance open and softly closed it behind her before she ascended those stairs too. Pushing open the last door, Ino was delighted to see a figure some feet away, facing away from her. She smiled a friendly smile and casually walked up behind him.

"You're still here after all."

An arm's reach away, the boy turned around, and she was temporarily engulfed by a cloud of smoke. As she waved it away with an arm, Ino recognized the person before her to be Shikamaru, the boy she met a few sessions back. He had a cigarette tucked into the corner of his mouth, end of it glowing a bright red-orange, that he took out and held between his fingers to keep more smoke from getting in her face. Ino sneezed and he gave a wan smile.

"I take it I'm not the one you're looking for."

He took a drag from his cigarette, then held it away again. Ino looked at him, disappointed that he was right yet happy to see him anyway. She had been keeping an eye out for him since they last met, with no luck. He was good company, and she didn't exactly have a whole bunch of friends. Or any at all, for that matter. She shrugged.

"Who knows, maybe you are. What're you doing up here anyway?"

Shikamaru took a long, exaggerated drag from the cigarette and Ino caught the hint.

"Okay, so it's obvious why you're here, but why...well, _why_?"

He took a moment to look at the cigarette between his fingers before flicking it onto the blacktop, outing it with his foot. He shoved his hands into his pockets again the same way he had the last time she saw him.

"Bad habit. Semi-illegal. People want me to quit."

She noticed he had a crumpled, half-full pack peaking out of the top of his shirt pocket.

"Is that what you come here, to the Center, for?"

"Hn."

Already, his mouth itched for another cigarette. His tongue missed the smokey, savory flavor of tobacco. She looked into his eyes and he could see that she wanted to ask another question. He half-turned away from her, exhaling loudly. After a moment, he decided to give her the answer she was after.

"I started smoking...to remember, you could say. In rememberance, after Sarutobi-sensei died." He turned to peep at her over his shoulder. "He was my favorite teacher."

"I'm sorry." She meant it sincerely, he could tell in the way that her expression softened. He smiled that same, joyless smile again and Ino saw the pain in his eyes.

"Me too."


End file.
